Gher Meets His Match
by Amber Dream
Summary: This is about Althalus and Dweia's daughter.
1. Chapter One

Hey everyone, I decided to post this, to see if anyone liked it. Of course, I only have the first chapter written. I decided, that if I get about 20-30 reviews, I may update it, if I can find the inspiration to continue writing. Oh and before I start, one warning. This may be slightly AU and it may also contain some OOC. I warn you now, so I don't get flames telling me how crap my story is. I got one like that about my 'The Orb Of Roses', and I haven't been able to write anymore on it, which is a shame since I was enjoying writing it, then someone came along and told me that my plot was unoriginal, and that my characters were wrong. I'm no David Eddings, thank you very much. Anyway, I'll write the disclaimer, then it's on with the story.

Disclaimer- I do not own the wonderful characters that exist in David Eddings's world.

Chapter 1-

Althalus awoke to the soft sound of laughter. He smiled gently. Since he could feel the warmth to his side that he knew was his wife, he figured it had to be his daughter. What was she up to this time?

The giggling continued. Althalus raised his head a little and his eyes opened a crack. There was his autumn haired daughter, sitting by one of the windows in their home. His eyes opened a little more, and he saw the grin on the girl's face. It was entirely too cheeky. Before he could think about it though, he felt a drip of icy water hit his face. 

Althalus's eyes shot wide open as what seemed to be a bucket full of icy water splashed all over him. He shouted, and was about to mutter some choice curses when he heard the soft giggling change to a laugh. It was pure as a bell, and it rang over him.

"Lorelle." Althalus sighed, shaking his head from side to side.

"Yes Daddy?" Lorelle giggled, as she left her seat.

"What would've you done had any of that water hit your mother?" Althalus asked, thinking of how his wife would be terribly upset at such an awakening.

"But Daddy, Mother's already downstairs finishing breakfast. She wanted me to wake you up." Lorelle said.

"But she's right..." Althalus broke off, noticing that his wife was nowhere in the room. "Alright young lady. Just how did you do that?" He asked sternly.

"Do what Daddy?" Lorelle asked in an innocent tone. She looked up at Althalus, smiling coyly. This lasted for about a minute, for an impish grin broke across Lorelle's face. "I'm not telling." She cried as she raced downstairs to her mother.

"Lorelle, what did you do to your father?" Dweia asked her daughter.

"Nothing Mother. You said to wake him, and so I did." The innocent look and voice was back.

"Em, did you know that our daughter here could create illusions that gave off heat, a certain scent, could also create something that made me think that you were beside me? It was almost solid!" Althalus cried.

"Lorelle. What have you been doing?" Dweia looked at her daughter.

"I've been practicing. I mean, if I'm to go out in the world, I may need to be able to do that." Lorelle lowered her head, waiting for the explosion. Sure enough, it arrived straight afterward.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN?!" Althalus never yelled, except on this topic. 

"Daddy. I'll be fine. I got my looks from mother, and an insatiable curiosity from you." Lorelle said reasonably. 

"But…" Althalus's voice had lowered.

"Daddy, I have a sister that I've never met. I want to meet Leitha. Please. If it worries you, come with me. You and Mother could travel with me. But you'd have to stay out of sight first."

Althalus sighed. He knew when to quit. This daughter of his was extremely stubborn. "When do you want to leave?"

"Well, could we leave now? It's going to be Leitha's birthday in a couple of weeks, and I'd like to get there before it. I think as a present, I may bring her Daddy back. What do you think?"

This was asked towards her mother.

"That sounds fine dear heart." Dweia said to her daughter.


	2. Chapter Two

Hey, here's the next chapter. It's still slightly short and I apologise for that. I can't seem to get a good run. It also may seem a little rushed and I apologise for that too. L. Anyways, thank you all for your lovely reviews.

Disclaimer- I don't own the magic of Althie's world, or anyone in it, except Lorelle. K?

Chapter Two-

A couple of days later, Lorelle was ready to leave.

Althalus took one look at her and shook his head. "You're not going out there dressed like that."

Lorelle looked at herself. She saw nothing wrong with her outfit. She was dressed in a simple tunic that was suitable for riding. "What's wrong with it?"

"You'll draw too much attention to yourself." He said.

"Daddy, think about it. No matter how I dress, I'm going to draw attention to myself." She grinned at her father. "When we get to Osthos, because that's where Leitha is, she's with Andine, I want you and Mother to stay hidden till her birthday."

Althalus sighed. "Fine. Now why do you want your mother and I to stay out of sight? Where will you be?" He asked.

Lorelle's grin grew. "I'm going to introduce them to Ammy."

Althalus looked confused for a minute. "Who's Ammy?"

Lorelle winked before she began to rapidly change into an ebony cat with amethyst coloured eyes.

"This is Ammy." She said, arching her back, before changing back.  

Althalus smiled. "You look so much like your mother when you do that." He said.

Lorelle blushed. "Thank you Daddy." She said, her eyes lowered to the ground.

Althalus grinned as he realised that his daughter was blushing because of the compliment that he gave her.

About to say something, Althalus was cut short as Dweia stepped out and meowed loudly.

"Don't think about it Althalus." She warned, walking over to her daughter, who picked her up.

"Hello Mother, or should I say Emmy?" Lorelle asked with a grin.

"Mother is fine, thank you." Dweia replied.

Althalus looked at the two that he loved the most and sighed happily. He was going to see the rest of his family soon.

"We'd better get going if we want to make it there on time." He said, placing Dweia in the back of his hood of his cloak. It was where she had stayed on their first outing out of the House.

_'Like old times. Don't you agree pet?' _Dweia's voice murmured in Althalus's mind.

_'Yes it is.'_

Lorelle sighed. She knew that they were communicating through their own private link. Mounting her horse, she waited patently for her parents, and when they were ready they rode till nightfall. 

Althalus set up camp just a way down from the old tree trunk that marked the way to the House. Grinning, he stared up at the lights dancing across the night sky, God's fire so much more obvious during the night. He remembered the first time he had seen it, over twenty five hundred years ago. It had given him the shock of his life. _No, wait, it had given him the first of never ending shocks, he corrected himself with a wry grin. Living with a Goddess was a shocking experience, especially when that Goddess had an eighteen-year old daughter who was a mixture of both her and himself. _

He looked at his daughter and smiled gently. That daughter of his was his pride and joy. 

Lorelle looked at her father and smiled as she cooked dinner. Although her mother preferred to just create dinner, with her own special touches, cooking was a soothing habit for Lorelle and she took great delight in the simple pleasures of cooking.

As the sun rose the next morning, Lorelle awoke to hear someone talking to themselves. Sitting up cautiously, she saw an old man with a stick walking past. She grinned, realising who this old man was.

"Hello Uncle." She called softly.

The old man jumped and he turned to look at Lorelle, his old face lighting with joy as he saw her.

"Lorelle my dear, come give an old man a hug." He said.

Lorelle complied instantly, getting to her feet and rushing to embrace the old man.

"What are you doing out and about Lorelle?" He asked, running a hand gently over her long autumn hair. "I could have sworn that that father of your was never going to let you out in this world."

Lorelle smiled cheekily. "Daddy didn't want to, but Mother and I persuaded him."

The old man laughed. "I bet you did. Together, you and your mother could make even the most stubborn man melt."

"It's so nice that you think that, considering that you're the world's most stubborn man, brother dearest." A voce came from behind Lorelle.

Lorelle turned to see that both her parents were up and her mother had changed back to her true form.

Althalus looked at the man with respect. "Deiwos." He said, bowing slightly.

"Althalus." Deiwos replied, he too bowing slightly to the man who loved his sister even more than he did.

Lorelle and Dweia both laughed at the two men, both two stubborn to admit that they liked each other.

Lorelle turned sad eyes towards the God Deiwos. "Uncle, we have to get going if I am to see this world before Daddy locks me back up in the House."

Deiwos nodded as he gently placed a kiss on his niece's cheek. "Take care Lorelle." He said, hugging her close. He grinned at his sister and bowed to Althalus before continuing on his walk.


	3. Chapter Three

Hey all. Here is the third chapter of 'Gher meets his match'. Now, I want to thank everyone for their reviews, they're really terrific. And to Raal the Sword Master, thankyou so much for the apology. I'm sorry that I made you apologise, it's just that I have very little self-esteem, and I thought I was a good writer and everything. Anyway, I will try to improve 'Orb of Roses', any way I can. Oh, and here's a happy note on that. I'm working on the fifth chapter and it's coming along.

Anyways, after the disclaimer, you can read the next chapter,

Disclaimer- I don't own anything that in all rights belongs to David Eddings.

Chapter Three-

Althalus sighed as he reined his horse in for the umpteenth time. How many times was Lorelle going to stop to look at things?

"Lorelle dear, I think you had better stop this break every minute. Your father is getting rather annoyed." Dweia said from her perch in Althalus's hood.

Lorelle nodded, a bit sadly. "Yes Mother." She said demurely as she mounted her horse and took one more look around at Treborea's countryside. They had been riding for a couple of months now and in a few more days they would be in Osthos. 

"Now Mother, Daddy, I want you to say out of sight. Find a house or something to stay at til I call for you. That way, Leitha won't know that you are here." Lorelle, not waiting for confirmation, lifted her hood to cover her head, dismounted and walked into the city of Osthos. 

"How long do you think she'll be gone?" Althalus asked Dweia nervously.

"Miss her already pet?" Dweia purred.

Althalus shot a look at the cat in his hood. "Don't start Em." He said warningly.

Dweia hissed at him. "Don't take that tone with Althalus. You are far too protective of our daughter. She knows how to take care of herself and she's incredibly intelligent."

Althalus sighed. "I know, it's just that I feel like I'm going to loose her."

Dweia nuzzled against the back of Althalus's neck. "Pet, she's growing up. All children do that." Dweia paused for a minute. "Now, let's go find us a place to stay, and you can have a bath. You're beginning to smell a little."

Althalus laughed as he took the reins of Lorelle's mount and nudged his forward with his heels.

Inside the gates of Osthos, Lorelle was looking around in wonder. "Wow, this place is incredible. Andine has a beautiful city." She murmured to herself, lost in the wonder of the city.

So amazed with the sights, Lorelle didn't notice that she was a few minutes away from a head-on collision. Suddenly Lorelle ran into another person and fell to the ground. "Ow." She said, shaking her head.

"Oh, sorry. Let me help you." Came a voice and a hand appeared in front of Lorelle's eyes.

Taking the offered hand, Lorelle felt herself being pulled to her feet gently. Looking up, she saw the deepest pair of brown eyes she had ever seen. Those eyes seemed to be familiar to Lorelle, and as they filled with amusement, Lorelle realised where she had seen them before. Grinning, she released the other's hand and nodded her head in thanks.

"Thank you." She said softly.

The young man, who looked to be about twenty-four, stared into Lorelle's amethyst eyes. When he heard his name being called, he turned to look where it came from. He waved at his friends, then turned back to Lorelle to find that she had disappeared from sight.

"Who was that?" He wondered to himself as he walked back to his friends.

Lorelle, from the shadows, watched as the young man walked back to his friends. She grinned to herself as she made her way to the fortified palace that was the home of Arya Andine and her husband Eliar. She looked up the walls and her grin grew as she saw the guards.

"Too easy." She whispered, deciding to creep in, rather than use the Book, or her own special abilities to make them not notice her.

After making her way into the palace, she rapidly changed her form to that of 'Ammy' and jumped onto Andine's throne, content to sleep while waiting.

"What's the matter Gher?" Leitha asked the young man she had known since he was ten.

Gher had a puzzled look upon his face. "It's nothing." He murmured.

Andine laughed. "Sure it is. You look more puzzled here then you did when you were discussing 'cause and effect' with Althalus."

Gher looked at Andine, shocked. "How did you know that?" He demanded.

"Dweia liked to keep an eye on the both of you. Sometimes she felt you two could be overly clever, when together."

Gher blushed a little. "Like I said before, it's nothing."

Leitha giggled. "So that's what has you so occupied." She winked at Andine.

"Hey!" Gher cried out indignantly. "Why didn't I feel you coming that time?"

Leitha's look was sly as she grinned at Gher. "Andine was nice enough to distract you for me." Her look softened as she looked at the man she considered a little brother. "We were worried. You weren't acting like your usual self." The gentle look was gone in an instant though, replaced by one of mischief. "She was rather pretty."

Eliar looked at Gher, a sly grin on his face. "Is Gher beginning to think seriously about girl people?" He teased.

Gher blushed, knowing that Eliar was teasing him about the fact that he had never shown any interest in the things that happen between 'girl people' and 'boy people'. This was fine if you were training to become a priest, but as Gher wasn't, it was slightly strange. 

"Eliar, stop teasing Gher. He needs us on his side. You know how bad Leitha and Andine tease him. He doesn't need you teasing him as well." Bheid scolded lightly, while grinning.

Gher mumbled something incoherent as he walked into Andine's throne room.

Andine, walking over to her throne, stopped short, spying the bundle of fur lying on her throne.

"Emmy?" She asked in a whisper.

The black cat opened its eyes, blinked once and meowed. Standing, it padded its way across the floor to Andine.

Andine picked up the cat and sighed, a little unhappily. "You're not Emmy, huh?" She held the cat closer. "You sure are a beautiful one though." 

The cat placed a gentle paw on Andine's face. 

Andine looked at the cat and saw that she had stunning amethyst eyes. "I think I'll call you Ammy." She resolved.

Leitha walked over to Andine and gently petted Ammy on the head. "She is pretty." She said softly.

Ammy, obviously enjoying that attention, began to purr happily, bringing the attention of Eliar, Bheid and Gher to her too.

Gher sighed as he sat down in one of the chairs in Andine's study. Staring at the books, he didn't notice that someone was watching him.

On silent feet, this someone crept up behind Gher and leapt at him, but was surprised to find themselves caught in midair.

"Meow?"

Gher laughed at Ammy's confused meow. "I knew you were there, Ammy." He said, in between laughs.

Ammy's eyes narrowed and her ears flattened down to her skull as she began to hiss.

"Oh Ammy. Don't tie your tail in a knot." He said, still laughing.

This remark caused Ammy to stop hissing and look at Gher peculiarly. She turned her head to one side and seemed to be considering something.

Gher was curious. He knew there was something about Ammy. He was sure of it. He had told the others, but the others thought he was just imagining things, that he was pretending that Ammy was like Emmy. Suddenly he remembered why he came into the study. Out of all the people there, he was the only one to use the study frequently, and so he had hidden his gift for Leitha in there.

"Did you know that today is Leitha's birthday? We were going to have a surprise party, but since Leitha's so gifted, she found out two minutes after we planned everything. We're all going to give her her presents now." Gher said, grabbing his gift out from behind a rather large book. "Come on Ammy." He called, racing out of the room, Ammy close on his heals.

Inside the throne room, Leitha was looking happily at her family. How so much had changed. Before she had met Althalus, Bheid, Dweia and everyone else, she had been alone in her world of thoughts. Now she had a sister, a brother, her husband, and a mother and father, of whom no one had seem for years. She heard and anxious meow and saw their new cat, Ammy, pacing back and forth, ignoring everyone.

"Does there seem to be something wrong with Ammy?" She asked Bheid.

Bheid smiled at Leitha. "She's probably just a little sick of being cooped up."

Suddenly Ammy meowed triumphantly and padded over to the door. Somehow she managed to get it open and in walked another black cat.

The two cuts nuzzled for a bit, then they both began to walk towards Leitha.

The second cat looked familiar for some reason, and when it got closer, they could see that it had brilliant emerald eyes.

"Emmy?" Leitha whispered softly, hoping that she wasn't dreaming.

"You were expecting someone else?" The cat with emerald eyes replied.

Everyone sat there shocked. It was Emmy!

About to embrace the cat, everyone was stopped as the door opened again and in walked a man.

"Now where are my two kittens?" He asked, grinning at the looks he was getting.

"Althalus?" Andine cried, her voice rising, causing the others to wince slightly.

"Daddy?" Leitha asked.

The two cats padded back over to Althalus.

Althalus looked at one of the cats sternly. "Change back right now young lady." He ordered.

The smaller cat, Ammy, gave a small sigh and rapidly began to change shape. When Ammy had finished changing, in her place stood a beautiful young woman, about eighteen years old, with startling amethyst eyes.

"Daddy. Stop being so bossy. I took care of myself." Ammy replied.

Althalus simply smiled, enfolding the girl in a hug. "I missed you, that's all."

"Ok, what is going on here?" Eliar asked, shocked still.

Dweia gave a feline grin. "A few months ago, I got a request from someone. She wanted to meet her sister, and for her birthday, bring her back her parents."

Althalus grinned as he walked over, holding Ammy's hand. "That someone was our daughter, Lorelle." Seeing that they were going to interrupt, Althalus raised a hand. "You know Lorelle better as Ammy."

All right. I decided to place this note here. Ok, first things first. I know in the first chapter I said a few weeks, but then I realised, if Lorelle wanted to see the world, she wasn't going to do that if they ended up killing their horses or using the doors. Secondly, I know the age differences are slightly strange, I mean, the way I have it, Lorelle was born when Gher was about ten, and yet there is only six years difference. Well I can explain that. Lorelle kind of played with the house when she was younger, making it so that she aged a few years. Four in fact. Man, were Althalus and Dweia pissed off when she did that. You know how regular parents get mad, think of a Goddess and an immortal thief getting mad at you. Wasn't fun.


End file.
